A2 in a 59--does it exist?

[Inflames626]

I may have overlooked it, but is an A2 in a 59 a thing?

 

[beaubrummels]

People have done it. There are threads on here if you search.

 

[Inflames626]

People have done it. There are threads on here if you search.

I thought the 59 might be more akin to an A2 than a Jazz anyway since the 59 is warmer than the Jazz.

 

[Clint 55]

The 59 takes epicly to A2. An obvious choice for the bridge. For the neck it ends up really fat and syrup-y. So you have to either be playing jazz or like ultra fat tones for neck.

 

[Inflames626]

The 59 takes epicly to A2. An obvious choice for the bridge. For the neck it ends up really fat and syrup-y. So you have to either be playing jazz or like ultra fat tones for neck.

If you asked me to design a neck pickup that sounds like a 1959 LP I'd probably reach for an A2 before an A5.

 

[Clint 55]

Yeah if you like vintage correct, it's $$.

 

[beaubrummels]

Here's a great thread on the topic
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/forum/the-pickup-lounge/273642-sh-1-59-magnet-swap-options

Another one
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/for...bridge-59-in-a-mag-swap?p=4389523#post4389523

And another
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/forum/the-pickup-lounge/277582-sd-59-magnet-swap

 

[marcello252]

59 with an A2 is one of my favorite bridge HB if not my favorite at all

 

[Chistopher]

A2 neck and bridge 59 set was a pretty big deal back in the day

 

[ToneFiddler]

The ’59 Model is one of our most popular pickups – a versatile ’50s-style humbucker with classic tone and attitude. Seymour based this pickup’s coil wind on the humbuckers in Jeff Beck’s 1959 Les Paul. When we started out as a company in the late 70s, more and more guitarists were playing .009 and .010 gauge strings which tended to sound thin and weak with Alnico 2 magnets. So to meet the demands and adapt to modern times, Alnico 5 magnets were used to compensate for the lighter string gauges. But the coil wind itself is straight from Jeff Beck’s ’59 Les Paul.

source: http://www.seymourduncan.com/vintage
​but non existing anymore

 

[marcello252]

source: http://www.seymourduncan.com/vintage
​but non existing anymore

That's odd to me, because with lighter string, that's when the A2 shines, bringing back and compressing the mids otherwise not so prominent

 

[Inflames626]

I'm pretty sure people still use 9s and 10s often. Just raise the neck pickup closer to the strings.

 

[Mincer]

I'm pretty sure people still use 9s and 10s often. Just raise the neck pickup closer to the strings.

Yeah, always 9s here.

 

[JB6464]

I use the A5 59's with 9-40's, works great for me.

 

[Inflames626]

I use the A5 59's with 9-40's, works great for me.

I think they meant 9s and 10s were too thin when the 59 was used with an A2, so they went to an A5. An A2 seems more vintage correct to me.

 

[ToneFiddler]

source: http://www.seymourduncan.com/vintage
​but non existing anymore

Wayback machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200423174637/http://www.seymourduncan.com/vintage

maybe "thin" as in narrower Spectrum (think AM-Radio), but yeah it's strange.

 

[orpheo]

The 59 bridge with an alnico 2 is fat and howling, so I prefer it with an alnico4 (slight scoop in the mids compared to a2 but more than a5, a bass that's less bold and tight than a5 and a highend that's a bit softer than a5 but not as fat as a2)

A 59neck with an alnico2 is the right balance between fluid, creamy, and articulation, but with an alnico3 it's even better. It's hot enough as it is.

 

[ToneFiddler]

if you do a search on this forum for mag swaps in a 59 you will find that some people say they like the 59 better with every magnet, but the stock A5 one.
I don't know if i agree but i only tried A3 in the neck (i like it) and an short RC A5 in the Bridge (jury still out on this one).

 

[misterwhizzy]

A 59neck with an alnico2 is the right balance between fluid, creamy, and articulation, but with an alnico3 it's even better. It's hot enough as it is.

This is exactly my experience as well.

 

[Inflames626]

I'm not brave enough to do my own mag swaps.